Mother of 5 charged after 2 children left alone in car during shopping trip

BOARDMAN — A Youngstown woman is charged with child endangering after allegedly leaving two young children in her vehicle while she shopped at Target.

Charged for the incident reported Wednesday is Jonnise Collins, 25, of Compass West Drive.

According to a police report, township police were dispatched to the Target on U.S. Route 224 for a report of a young child standing alone in the parking lot.

A concerned person reportedly took the child into the store to get warm, where the child told police she was 4 years old and identified her mother's vehicle for them.

Police reported that, "When we looked inside the SUV we discovered another very young male child in a car seat inside the vehicle. The vehicle was unlocked and not running."

The temperature at that time was 18 degrees, but felt like five degrees due to the wind chill, police said.

Collins, the children's mother, was located in the store with three other children, according to the report. According to surveillance video, she entered the store at 8:05 p.m. and went through the checkout line at 8:47.

She was arrested on two counts of child endangering. She was released on a summons to appear in Mahoning County Area Court.

All five children were released to a relative, according to the report.